A traditional Indian / Pakistani wedding is one that lasts many
days. We have perhaps the most flamboyant and colorful weddings, which
in my opinion, not matched by any other community or society in the
world.

Whereas the average European marriage no more than an average of
75 cards printed, we have an average of no less than 300 cards per
wedding per side. namely 300 of the brides side and 300 on the grooms
side! (by the way, most cards we printed for a wedding was in 1250
cards! - the boys side) And if we get married we do not usually invite
only a handful of selected people, we invite everyone, and in some
cases everyone!
We have many beautiful and tasty dishes on our menu's preparation
begins many days before the big day itself.

Many of our wedding traditions have been adopted by the European
or western communities, such as decorate the house with lights and
decorations a few days before the wedding, elaborate decoration of the
wedding vehicle is a limousine, a Rolls Royce or a horse transport, and
do not forget the application of Mehndi or henna on the hands and feet
(and sometimes also in many other places!) of all involved in the
wedding.

Our weddings are not boring, as anyone who has ever participated
in an Indo / Pakistan will tell you, it's a big party, full of color
song and dance, lasting for many days and in some cases weeks.

The last
four to five days leading up to the wedding day itself are all planned
and organized with a wide range of activities in each of the evenings.

Mehndi is not synonymous with the Western marriage, but is now
big business in the western world with the will of Maddona, Darryl
Hanna, Prince and Demi Moore to name but a few that have seen in public
with Mehndi tattoos on parts of their anatomies . .. and think the idea
that they come from?

Mehndi is a short-term tattoo, not something that you are saddled
with the rest of your life, just because someone had dared you, or were
drunk or maybe thought it was a great idea at the time! This is a
tattoo you can as often as you want, wherever you want and it is quite
safe, and only for a few days. It is made from all natural ingredients,
so you can be sure of not getting any harmful or malicious elements in
your skin.

The application of Mehndi in our culture is a sign of a happy
occasion, it is almost always used for festive occasions like Diwali,
Eid, wedding, engagement, and so on. I myself have tried on a few
occasions to mess with Mehndi patterns, the best tattoo I have done is
that of a heart on the back of my hand, and that's about it! But I am
sure that we have seen or know Mehndi artists completely brilliant.
Many artists known Mehndi command fees of anywhere between 150 to 1500
dollars for a wedding. And not to forget the gifts like sarees,
jewelry, sweets and other gifts they expect! The ultimate idea is for
the bride, having to start a new life away from her family, to feel
like a princess.

Mehndi is used at weddings for a small family affair with a
handful of close friends are invited to attend a small function at home
a day or so before the wedding. But now has gone public! It is not
unusual for a large hall to be made, with beautiful flowers, huge guest
lists and four or five course meal, including a very loud (and
sometimes annoying) DJ to entertain the guests. Mehndi is traditionally
used only for the bride, but now the groom's side also insist that they
are applied to the groom at (any excuse for a party). It is these
ceremonies where the bride and groom are fed (and sometimes force-fed -
but all in good fun) with sweets or mithai, by almost all senior
members.